U.S. patent number 5,830,366 [Application Number 08/696,378] was granted by the patent office on 1998-11-03 for method and apparatus for filtering water on vessel and macerating retained solids.
Invention is credited to Charles B. Husick.
United States Patent |
5,830,366 |
Husick |
November 3, 1998 |
Method and apparatus for filtering water on vessel and macerating
retained solids
Abstract
The present invention is related to a method and apparatus for
filtering or straining water taken into a marine vessel so as to
remove solid contaminants that may impede operation of water
consuming devices on the vessel such as electrical generators, air
conditioners, refrigeration systems, propulsion engines and the
like. Solid contaminants retained by a filter or strainer are
collected and then macerated and removed by a macerator pump. The
solid contaminants removed and macerated include marine weeds,
grasses, solid matter and marine organisms, including, but not
limited to jellyfish and fish of such size as may be able to enter
the sea water intake served by the invention. The water so treated
may be fresh, brackish or salt water.
Inventors: |
Husick; Charles B. (St.
Petersburg, FL) |
Family
ID: |
26677775 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/696,378 |
Filed: |
August 13, 1996 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
210/739; 114/382;
210/767; 210/295; 210/173; 210/143; 210/97; 210/407; 210/170.05;
210/170.09; 210/170.11; 210/747.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C02F
1/003 (20130101); B01D 37/00 (20130101); C02F
2209/40 (20130101); C02F 2103/08 (20130101); C02F
2103/023 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
C02F
1/00 (20060101); B01D 37/00 (20060101); B01D
017/12 (); B01D 035/01 (); B01D 035/16 () |
Field of
Search: |
;210/87,90,94,96.1,96.2,97,106,120,121,123,127,136,138,143,170,173,241,242.1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2338901 |
|
Aug 1977 |
|
FR |
|
52-38765 |
|
Mar 1977 |
|
JP |
|
59-199093 |
|
Nov 1984 |
|
JP |
|
Primary Examiner: Drodge; Joseph W.
Claims
I claim as my invention:
1. A vessel adapted to be located in a body of water and including
a system for filtration of water taken into the vessel and adapted
to remove and discard solid contaminants from said water, said
system comprising:
a) a water inlet in fluid communication with the body of water in
which said vessel is located,
b) one or more water consumer devices on said vessel,
c) one or more consumer water outlets, said consumer water outlets
in fluid communication with said one or more water consumer
devices,
d) a water flow path connecting said water inlet to said consumer
water outlets,
e) a mechanical strainer or filter interposed in said water flow
path, through which substantially all of said water is forced to
travel in flowing from said water inlet to said consumer water
outlets, and adapted to retain said solid contaminants contained in
said water,
f) a mechanical pump operable to macerate for discharging said
retained solid contaminants from said strainer or filter,
g) a waste outlet in fluid communication with said pump, adapted to
discharge said retained solid contaminants,
h) a motive means for driving said pump.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more
water consumer devices is an electric power generation system.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more
water consumer devices is a refrigeration system.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more
water consumer devices is an air conditioning system.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein said water inlet is in fluid
communication with a through-hull sea-cock fitting located below
the water line of said vessel.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein said water flow path is located
below the water line of said vessel.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more
water consumer devices is located below the water line of said
vessel, and said consumer water outlet in fluid communication with
said water consumer device further comprises an air lock
elimination system comprised of a float-equipped bleed valve in
fluid communication with a check valve, said air lock elimination
system adapted to permit air trapped in said flow path to be vented
to the atmosphere under pressure created by gravitational flow of
water into said flow path, and further adapted to prevent entry of
air into said flow path when said water inlet is obstructed.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein said motive means is an electric
motor.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein said electric motor is further
provided with switch means to permit operation responsive to
actuation of a control means by a human operator.
10. The system of claim 8 wherein said electric motor is further
provided with switch means adapted to permit operation responsive
to an interval timer means for providing an actuation signal of
predetermined duration over a predetermined epoch.
11. The system of claim 8 wherein said electric motor is further
provided with switch means adapted to permit operation responsive
to operation of one of said one or more water consumer devices.
12. The system of claim 8 wherein said electric motor is further
provided with switch means adapted to permit operation responsive
to a sensed condition indicative of the presence of solid
contaminants in said water flow path.
13. The system of claim 12 wherein said sensed condition is a
decrease in total water flow through said consumer water outlets as
compared to the demand imposed by said one or more water consumer
devices.
14. The system of claim 12 wherein said sensed condition is an
increase in pressure within said water flow path upstream of said
strainer or filter.
15. The system of claim 12 wherein said sensed condition is
obstruction of an optical path within said water flow path.
16. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more
water consumer devices is a propulsion engine.
17. A method for providing water that is substantially free of
solid contaminants to water consuming devices on a vessel having a
hull comprising the steps of:
a) permitting water to flow from outside the hull of said vessel to
a water inlet of a strainer means,
b) directing said water through a water flow path in said strainer
means, in which is interposed a mechanical strainer or filter for
retaining solid contaminants entrained in said water,
c) directing said strained or filtered water to one or more water
consumer devices located on said vessel, and
d) periodically operating a mechanical macerator pump to discharge
said retained solid contaminants overboard through a discharge
port.
18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of:
a) operating said mechanical pump is response to a signal
indicative of the operation of one or more of said one or more
water consuming devices.
19. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of:
a) operating said mechanical pump is response to a signal
indicative of the presence of solid contaminants in said water flow
path.
Description
This application is a continuation of U.S. Provisional Application
No. 60/008,093, filed Oct. 30, 1995.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to a method and apparatus for
filtering water so as to remove particulate matter, including
marine weeds, grasses, solid matter and marine organisms,
including, but not limited to jellyfish and fish of such size as
may be able to enter the sea water intake served by the invention.
The water so treated may be fresh, brackish or salt water.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
It is common practice to provide vessels with a means by which
water may be taken into the interior of the vessel for use therein.
Propulsion engines, engines which drive electrical generators or
other powered systems, refrigeration systems and air conditioning
systems all require substantial flows of water for cooling. Bait
wells and live wells require constant flows of fresh oxygenated
water to maintain fish in a healthy and active state. Devices which
produce potable water, including evaporators and reverse osmosis
systems require feed water from which to produce potable water, and
to carry away waste streams. Deck wash-down pumps require a supply
of filtered sea water. Many of these same water requirements exist
in fixed and mobile land based systems which are permitted to draw
water from contaminated sources.
The conventional method for primary filtration of intake water
consists of the use of a "raw water strainer" which incorporates a
porous filter element, often comprised of a perforated metal basket
which traps the material to be excluded, allowing the water to flow
through the holes in the filter element and then onward to its
point of use. This type of filter device suffers from a significant
failing in that the material which is excluded from the onward flow
of filtered water is retained within the strainer, eventually
leading to obstruction of the filter element and therefore a
reduction ion the volume of or interruption of the flow of water.
This type of filter requires that the water flow be interrupted and
the filter opened to remove the retained material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention greatly reduces the susceptibility of raw
water strainers to clogging by retained material filtered from the
water flow, thereby making the removal of the filter from service
for cleaning unnecessary or a much less frequent requirement.
The filter apparatus of the present invention operates using
continuous, periodic or commanded discharge of trapped contaminants
through a waste discharge outlet by the use of maceration apparatus
and significant pressure differentials within the filter assembly.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a metallic or plastic
water filter element separates undesirable material from the sea
water flow. The filter chamber in which the separated material is
held is equipped with a mechanically-driven rotating element
macerator / pump (that may be driven electrically, hydraulically,
or by any conventional prime mover such as an internal combustion
engine.) Periodically, the macerator is operated, thereby grinding
the contaminant materials collected within the body of the filter
and as a consequence of the pumping action, discharging them
through a discharge through-hull fitting. Alternatively, a
conventional marine sea water strainer (filter), may be modified by
the addition of a water flow path which will permit debris
accumulated by the filter element to be directed to a suitable
waste pump which will discharge overboard or to a waste receptacle
or the like. This waste water flow will carry with it the
contaminants which have been separated from the input flow by the
mechanical action of the filter element. The ratio of the flow of
filtered product water to contaminated discharge water is adjusted
to permit sufficient flow of water to waste to prevent a build-up
of flow-reducing contaminants within the filter element. The
movement of contaminants into the waste flow is also assured by
designing a filter assembly wherein the ratio of the area of the
filter through which the filtered water passes to the area through
which the waste discharge occurs is large, typically on the order
of 10:1, thereby enhancing the movement of contaminants toward the
discharge port as a result of the higher velocity of the discharge
flow.
Under circumstances where it may be desirable to operate the waste
discharge system only intermittently, the waste discharge system is
enabled by an interval timer or by a flow monitor system. This flow
monitor operates by sensing an increase in pressure drop across the
filter element, (differential pressure from inlet to filtered water
output), or by monitoring the degree of obstruction of the filter
element by optical means, (transmitted light attenuation, in either
the visible or infrared portion of the spectrum), or by directly
sensing fluid flow. When the waste discharge system is not
commanded to operate by the flow monitor, the filter operates
conventionally, with all of the input flow appearing at the output
and little or no discharge to waste. When the flow monitor detects
sufficient blockage of the filter element, the waste pump is
operated, inducing an energetic flow of water from the input side
of the filter element to the waste discharge, carrying with it the
trapped contaminants present on the input side of the filter.
Optionally, the flow of water to the output side of the filter may
simultaneously be reduced, eliminated, or reversed for a short
period by appropriate means, to aid in cleansing of the filter
element
The waste pump used to induce the flow of water to the waste
discharge system may be a centrifugal type which will allow the
passage of contaminants, a diaphragm or macerator type chosen for
its ability to pass contaminants, a jet pump (aspirator) energized
by a water flow tapped from the main system pump, or some
combination of these, such as a centrifugal pump having a
pre-maceration stage. It is contemplated that a jet type pump would
operate continuously, while a centrifugal pump would operate
continuously whenever contaminants were known to be or suspected to
be present in the intake water flow. A diaphragm or macerator type
pump would likely operate only when activated by a filter flow
monitor system or interval timer system.
The filter system of the present invention may also find use in
terrestrial applications such as in pumps used to fight flood
conditions, fire fighting apparatus, or sump pumps of the type used
to drain construction sites and the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURE
FIG. 1 depicts a section view of a raw water filter according to
the present invention to provide for the incorporation of a
rotating macerator / pump element within the portion of the filter
chamber which retains material removed from the filtered water
flow. Raw water enters the system at the pipe marked inlet and
passes through the porous cylindrical filter element into the
filtered water annulus from which filtered water may be withdrawn
through one or more filtered water outlets. Trapped debris remains
within the center of the filter element. When desired, the rotating
macerator / pump element at the base of the filter operates,
drawing the trapped debris into the macerating passages at the
perimeter of the rotating disc and subsequently expelling the
macerated debris and water from the device through the waste
discharge port. This port is connected to a waste discharge line
which normally penetrates the vessel's hull immediately above the
water line. The clog resistant filter is designed to provide a
simultaneous flow of filtered water to more than one consumer,
thereby allowing the device to function as a sea chest. This
capability can be used to reduce the number of below the water line
hull penetrations, sea cocks and raw water strainers needed to
serve various consumers. In addition to the water filtering
capability of the invention a means is incorporated for the
elimination of air locks at the water feed to connected consumers.
Since some of these consumers are of a type which will not self
bleed and may be damaged by operation without the presence of
water, a means for elimination of any air lock conditions is highly
desirable.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a modified marine sea water
system. Vessel hull bottom 100 is equipped with a through-hull
fitting and sea cock 90 having sufficient diameter to permit
substantially unimpeded flow of required sea water to filter-pump
assembly 20. Filter pump assembly 20 contains filter or strainer 24
and macerator pump 23 and is provided with debris discharge line
40, and with connections to consumers of sea water within the
vessel, such as generator cooling water line 30 and air
conditioning pump 80, which provides water to heat exchangers in
the air conditioning system via line 70. Debris discharge line 40
is connected, in turn, through check valve 50 to discharge port 60
which is installed through the hull above the water line.
Operation of filter pump assembly 20 is provided with a control
module 10, which is commanded by signals from the vessel air
conditioning and electrical generation systems, as well as by
signals from contamination sensors (not shown) and by an internal
timer function of control module 10. Such timer function commands
operation of filter pump assembly 20 during a predetermined
interval (for instance, a sixty-second operational cycle)
periodically during a predetermined time epoch (for instance, one
operational cycle during each hour.) Under combined command from
various sources, the control may be commanded to operate, for
instance, for one operational cycle for each hour of time during
which the vessel air conditioning and/or electrical generation
systems are run, or may be operated strictly on "clock" time
(running one operational cycle during each hour of the day.)
Input water enters the hull via sea cock 90, and flows to the
filter pump assembly 20, and thence to consumers of sea water via
lines 30 and 70. On demand, command, or at a predetermined
interval, waste materials and water are discharged via line 40
through check valve 50 and overboard through port 60.
When the clog resistant strainer system of the present invention is
used to replace an existing sea water strainer it is advisable to
increase the size of the water intake apparatus, the through-hull
fitting, the sea cock and the piping by approximately 50% in cross
section area and to fit a clog resistant strainer of appropriately
larger size than the original. This action is necessary to allow
for the necessary increase in the total volume of water which will
flow through the system as a consequence of the action of the
scavenge pump.
The air lock elimination sub system 110 and 120 is comprised of a
float equipped bleed valve 110 which in the absence of water in its
interior opens a vent which communicates to check valve 120. When
an air lock condition exists, the level of the filter assembly 20
below the water line of the vessel, combined with the open state of
valve 110, allows trapped air to be vented into the line
communicating with check valve 120. As soon as the water level
reaches the upper portion of bleed valve 110, this valve closes,
reestablishing the water tight integrity of the system. In the
event the sea water inlet in the hull becomes obstructed,
preventing the free entry of water, pump 80 will attempt to draw
from both the filter 20 and from bleed valve 110. In this instance,
check valve 120, which operates to allow the passage of air only
outward from bleed valve, will close, preventing the entry of air
into the inlet of pump 80 and the associated piping.
STATEMENT OF UTILITY
The present invention is useful in vessels which consume sea water
for cooling and other functions, and which operate in areas of high
solid contaminant concentrations (such as grasses, jelly fish, and
the like) which require periodic clean-out of raw water
strainers.
* * * * *